Run by Photographers, for Photographers

Archive for April, 2010

The Branch passed the following motion last night condemning the rights grabbing contract Bauer Media is trying to force onto it’s freelance contributors for it’s music magazines. The branch has called for our members not to supply content or accept commissions under the new contract until a settlement is reached.

This Branch condemns the recent attempts by Bauer Media’s music division to impose an all rights grab contract on its freelance contributors and supports the action by freelancers to force Bauer Media to reconsider.

The Branch calls for all NUJ members to support the Bauer Media music freelance action and not accept commissions or contribute content under this rights grabbing contract until a negotiated settlement is agreed upon between Bauer Media music and its freelance contributors.

The London Photographer’s Branch is committed to the defence of copyright and will fight any attempt to undermine it.

Members who contribute to Bauer can join the London Freelance Branch Shady Bauer mailing list for the latest information on the negotiations. There is also a meeting on 5th May at 6.30pm at Headland House for freelance Bauer contributors organised by NUJ Freelance Organiser John Toner.

It is thought that the new rights grabbing contract will be rolled out across the rest of Bauer’s titles shortly, a full list of Bauer’s UK publications can be found on BauerMedia.co.uk and Bauer.co.uk

Last nights branch meeting voted to adopt a model letter to send to the Guardian who have unilaterally imposed cuts to the rates paid for photographs after years of having agreed rates with the NUJ. The rates in the letter are the latest NUJ agreed minimum, so you can modify them if you wish. You may also wish to include details of online rates.

Sir,

This is to inform you that from May 1st this year reproduction fees for my photographs in a single day’s print editions will remain no less than they are today:

If my photographs, whether supplied directly or received from third parties, continue to be reproduced in GNM Media Ltd publications, these are the minimum fees I will be charging. It is your responsibility to ensure that all staff (and freelances) responsible for putting pictures on the pages are aware that this is the case. Should my terms no longer be acceptable to GNM Media Ltd, please ensure that my pictures are not reproduced by GNM in the future and that you destroy all remaining electronic copies of my photographs in your possession.

At last nights branch meeting there was a panel discussion on the Future of Copyright. Branch Membership Secretary Guy Smallman spoke about his experience using union lawyers to recover money from copyright infringers. Freelance organiser John Toner spoke about other members the union had helped reclaim money from copyright infringers. He also spoke about the setting up of a new small claims court for copyright infringement that the union has lobbied for. Andrew Wiard discussed the future of copyright law and what changes the union should lobby a new government for. You can listen to the full audio from the discussion here.

The Future of Copyright

Our next meeting will be on the future of copyright with Andrew Wiard, Guy Smallman and NUJ freelance organiser John Toner. The panel will be discussing current negotiations with the Guardian, the Bauer Media dispute and future strategies for negotiating changes to copyright law. The meeting will be next Tuesday 27th of April at 6pm in Headland House. Any motions to the branch should be sent to the branch secretary prior to the meeting.

Press Freedom: Hostile Reconnaissance highlights the continuing police surveillance of journalists documenting political dissent in the UK and follows the rise of the I’m a Photographer Not a Terrorist! campaign.

The film follows on from the 2008 film Press Freedom: Collateral Damage that exposed the extent of police surveillance on street journalists. The film includes interviews with photojournalists Marc Vallee and Jess Hurd, NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear and Hickman and Rose partner Anna Mazzola. They are a few among many who continue to campaign to expose and fight the increasing erosion of civil liberties and press freedom.

Last night saw the fantastic Hostile Reconnaissance rally take place as 200 people filled the Large Meeting House of Friends Meeting House in Euston.

The rally heard from across the spectrum of journalists and photographers with accounts of journalists being harassed by police whilst working, being forced to erase images under the threat of arrest, detention on trumped up charges of ‘a breach of the peace’ and forced removal from covering protests using public order legislation.

March’s NUJ London Photographers Branch (LPB) meeting saw members vote to condemn the targeting of journalists by the English Defence League (EDL). The motion also agreed that the LPB would support the NUJ Expose The BNP campaign.

EDL street numbers have drastically increased in less than a year. They claim they are a multicultural, non-racist, non-violent organisation, protesting against “militant Islam”. Yet the published photographs and television news reports show a very different picture. Racism, violence, criminal damage and clashes with the police have become standard on their protests. Connections with far right groups have been repeatedly exposed by various news outlets. The EDL claim they are being misrepresented by a left-wing media conspiracy and their response has been to target journalists. For those regularly covering the protests, intimidation, threats and violence have followed.

Email threats have been issued, warning journalists not to document EDL protests. Journalists’ websites have received increasingly racist and threatening comments. Photographs identifying journalists have appeared inside EDL forums and on the website of Casuals United, a group supporting the EDL, set up to recruit hooligan gangs from football ground terraces across the country. Information, names and addresses of journalists have been sought and messages sent out to EDL and Casuals United members to “keep an eye out”, “give them a warm welcome” and “have a word with them”.

Some journalists and photographers found out at the Stoke protest in January this year what ‘having a word’ meant. Several received punches to the head while others came under a targeted hail of bricks, bottles, lighters, coins, wooden debris and burning rags soaked in petrol.

Two months later in Dudley a further four photographers were punched, kicked and threatened. Several of these attacks came from EDL stewards. With the types of weapons being carried during the demonstrations – knuckle dusters, knives, lighter fluid canisters and bottles of bleach – it is clear that the threats against working journalists covering the far right in the UK are extremely serious.

The London Photographers Branch vows to continue supporting all its members coming under attack.

With the General Election in full swing it is time to put civil liberties and press freedom centre stage in the election debates. Our right to work, our right to protest and dissent are increasingly under threat by the use and abuse of a raft of anti-terror legislation.

Professional and amateur photographers alike are being stopped routinely by police under Section 44 of the Terrorism act on grounds of conducting ‘Hostile Reconnaissance’ which has seen the rapid growth of the campaign group ‘I’m a Photographer Not a Terrorist!‘.

The use of these laws has been challenged and ruled unlawful by the European Court of Human Rights. The filmmaker and NUJ member who is fighting the government appeal to the ruling next week, Pennie Quinton, will be speaking at the rally.

Mike Mansfield QC said in support of the rally:

The Government’s legislation has less to do with terrorism than with control and the suppression of opposition and truth. It has been recognized for some time by the authorities that agents of the state have too often been caught on camera committing unlawful acts: (Orgreave, Poll Tax, Fairford, Brighton, G20, climate camp). The power to confiscate the camera is therefore an essential tool for an oppressive regime.

How such a draconian measure, drafted in such wide ranging terms, got past our so called political scrutineers in the Commons beggars belief. Either they were subverted by the ‘fear factor’, diverted by expenses claims or overcome by sleep. Mind you, it’s the same lot who voted for the War in Iraq in the first place and who later believed security service assurances that the UK had not colluded in rendition and torture. Such an unquestioning and unaccountable bunch of Labour and Tory MPs needs to be booted out on May 6 and this iniquitous provision repealed

The London Photographers’ Branch of the National Union of Journalists, is proud to be hosting a pre-election rally Hostile Reconnaissance – Terror Laws, Civil Liberties & Press Freedom at 7pm on the 13th of April at Friends Meeting House in Euston.

The rally will be chaired by photographer Jess Hurd and we’ve got a top lineup of speakers who have dealt with the raft of terror laws that we face today:

Thanks to the work of thousands of photographers up and down the country, campaigning and writing letters to MP’s we have defeated the offending Clause that would have had a devastating effect on the livelihoods of freelance photographers.

The London Photographers’ Branch commends those photographers and NUJ members who have stood up and been counted and gives special thanks to those who have consistently worked towards this victory.

Jess HurdChair, London Photographers’ Branch
On behalf of the LPB Committee

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Branch members who wish to access the members' area of the website, which includes the minutes of all branch and committee meetings, should email info@
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Working LIves

The branch is producing a series of video interviews to illustrate the range of work undertaken by its members. The first two are with local newspaper photographer Anne-Marie Sanderson, and freelancer John Sturrock.